SAN FRANCISCO, April 7, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Mexican Museum (TMM), announces that it is embarking on a unique partnership with the Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley). The new collaboration is aimed at creating an exchange of ideas, artists, and scholarship that will bring innovative cultural programming to a wider audience in the Bay Area and California. The Mexican Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate, is the premier West Coast museum of Mexican, Mexican-American, Chicano, Latin American and Latino art, culture and heritage.
"We are very excited about this tremendous partnership between The Mexican Museum and the Center for Latin American Studies," said Andrew M. Kluger, Chairman of The Mexican Museum Board of Trustees. "Our goal is to link the intellectual vitality of their program with the extraordinary richness of what the museum offers."
UC Berkeley Professor Harley Shaiken, director of CLAS, sees the strategic museum-university relationship as highly innovative and hugely beneficial to many communities in the Bay Area in terms of lectures, conferences, art and music programs, and other events.
"CLAS has organized an exceptional program in the arts, humanities, social sciences and sciences on the Berkeley campus," said Shaiken. "We look forward to providing a link between all the cultural vitality of the UC Berkeley campus and the exceptional collections, cultural experience and people of The Mexican Museum."
Past CLAS programs have included former U.S. Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Hass together with artist Fernando Botero, discussing Botero's work as part of a CLAS-sponsored exhibit of his Abu Ghraib paintings; an appearance by legendary Brazilian musician Gilberto Gil; appearances by Mexican filmmakers and actors Diego Luna and Demián Bichir, as well as other prominent members of the film industry; and a presentation on the murals of Diego Rivera by Graham W.J. Beal, Director of the Detroit Institute of the Arts.
Along with what the collaboration could mean for audiences in San Francisco and beyond, Kluger says that one of the primary goals of the collaboration between CLAS and TMM is to help bring the museum's collections to a broader audience in the Bay Area. This includes local schools, community colleges, and immigrant communities, as well as scholars and other groups who are not traditionally museumgoers.
"The Mexican Museum has grown into a tremendous educational resource over the years, initiating partnerships with the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and the University of San Francisco, among others," said Kluger. "Through these partnerships, we have been able to use the wealth of our resources to help both student and professional artists and to introduce children to the arts and culture of Mexico. The public has also come to see how The Mexican Museum plays a crucial role in maintaining cultural ties between our two nations."
About The Mexican Museum:
Founded by the well-known San Francisco artist Peter Rodriguez in 1975 in the heart of the Mission District, The Mexican Museum is located at Fort Mason Center. The Museum is the realization of Rodriguez's vision to present the aesthetic expression of the Mexican and Mexican-American people. Today, the Museum's vision has expanded to include the full scope of the Mexican, Chicano and Latino experience – including the arts, history and heritage of their respective cultures.
In 2012, The Mexican Museum became an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the world's largest museum and research complex. The Museum joins over 200 organizations in 45 states, Puerto Rico and Panama that are in association with the Smithsonian. The Mexican Museum currently has a permanent collection of more than 16,500 objects reflecting Pre-Hispanic, Colonial, Popular, Modern and Contemporary Mexican, Mexican-American, Latin American, Latino, and Chicano art.
The Mexican Museum is open Wednesday - Sunday from noon to 4 p.m., and located at Fort Mason Center, Building D, Marina Boulevard and Buchanan Street, in San Francisco. FREE Admission. The Museum offers a wide variety of programs, including Family Sundays, exhibitions, special events, lectures, and public programming throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. For more information, please visit: http://www.mexicanmuseum.org or call (415) 202-9700.
The Mexican Museum is currently preparing for the construction of its permanent home, which is expected to open in 2018. People are encouraged to support The Mexican Museum by becoming new members, or by joining the Builder's Society online or by mailing a check to: The Mexican Museum, Fort Mason Center, 2 Marina Boulevard, Building D, San Francisco, CA 94123. For more information on the Builder's Society, please contact Adriana Lopez at (415) 684-9803.
About the Center for Latin American Studies at UC Berkeley:
The Center for Latin American Studies at UC Berkeley is an Organized Research Unit (ORU) that promotes research and public understanding of Latin American culture and politics in the United States. Over 100 Berkeley faculty members who do research in Latin America are affiliated with CLAS as well as a vibrant group of graduate and undergraduate students. CLAS has established a unique community across Latin America of scholars, artists, writers, public intellectuals, journalists, entrepreneurs, and political leaders. For more information, please visit: http://clas.berkeley.edu/